Catalina owner is selling up $6m bluechip home

The owner of one of Sydney’s most iconic restaurants has decided it’s time to sell up in a big multi-million dollar move.

The owner of one of Sydney’s most iconic restaurants Judy McMahon has decided it’s time to sell up. Picture: Tim Hunter.

The owner of iconic Rose Bay waterfront restaurant Catalina, Judy McMahon, has listed her luxury apartment that comes with seven car spots.

“It has an exclusive driveway onto New South Head Rd, so it’s perfect for car collectors,” says TRG’s Zac Rabin who has a $6m price guide for a February 19 auction.

That’s down from a $7m guide when the three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in the coveted St Neots complex at 16/235-335 New South Head Rd, Rose Bay was listed with other agents last June, but didn’t sell.

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An aerial view of the luxury St Neots complex.

The apartment opens to a terrace and frangipani and jacaranda-framed lawn. which is on title.

“Judy’s extremely motivated now and looking to downsize,” says Rabin.

“There’s 900sqm on title, with this massive garden that’s incredibly rare to find.”

The much-loved restaurateur has made several improvements to the 200sqm north-facing apartment, including new timber floors, renovating the bathrooms and repainting, since buying it for $3.65m in 2016 with her late husband, Michael McMahon, who died of a heart attack in 2020.

The couple opened Catalina in 1994 and last year Judy and her son, James, and daughter, Kate, celebrated 30 years of owning and operating what’s become a Sydney dining institution.

It’s a magnet for celebrity diners, with Katy Perry, Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, Bono, Al Pacino, Hugh Jackman, Beyonce and Jay-Z, among many others, passing through the doors over the years.

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Judy McMahon with adult children James McMahon and Kate Dalgairns at Catalina Restaurant in Rose Bay last year. Picture: Tim Hunter.

The 200sqm apartment has timber floors.

The garden apartment has multiple living areas flowing through French doors to a terrace and frangipani and jacaranda-framed lawn. which is on title.

The opulent main bedroom, with a lavish ensuite, also opens directly to the garden and the apartment is a short walk to the Double Bay village and trains at Edgecliff.

Rabin has another three-bedroom apartment at 3/93 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay going to auction on the same day, also with a $6m guide.

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Originally published as Catalina owner is selling up $6m bluechip home